"The Matchmaker" by Thornton Wilder at the Actors Co-op

The Matchmaker

Seeing theater in big theater cities like New York, London and Los Angeles can be a scary experience. Los Angeles itself has hundreds of shows a year to choose from, and so much theater is produced, you are bound to wander into the audience of a terrible show from time to time. So how do you choose between Show A and Show B on a Friday night? One way is to look for the classics that have stood the test of time.

Last Friday night, I finally saw a classic: “The Matchmaker” by the amazing Thornton Wilder. Although he is most known for “Our Town,” and “The Skin of Our Teeth,” for which he won a Pulitzer, Wilder wrote many more critically acclaimed plays. And he is considered to be one of the first modern-esque playwrights since he broke away from many theater conventions throughout his writing.

“The Matchmaker” was produced by the Actors Co-op, and based on their upcoming season, they focus on well-known classic pieces of theater. I was really excited to see a show that I knew I would enjoy, due to the exemplary writing of Wilder.  “The Matchmaker” is about an old rich man named Horace Vandergelder (played by Dimitri Christy) who wants to marry again. He is set up on a date in New York by a charismatic widow, Mrs. Dolly Levi (played by Lori Berg), who actually wants to marry Vandergelder herself. Meanwhile, Vandergelder’s two employees decide to go to New York for a little vacation (against their boss’s wishes), and end up meeting two women and take them out on a night on the town. Many hijinks ensue, but it all works out in the end, with the old man and the beautiful matchmaker deciding to marry. The play is wonderfully written and plotted, almost to the extent it would be a challenge to make it not succeed.

While the production was a little uneven in places, I was really pleased to have seen great character actors making great choices. I especially loved Jeff Fazakerley, who played one of Vandergelder’s employees Cornelius Hackl. Fazakerly is a pleasure to watch in this production. He was perfectly cast, and had great comedic timing and command with the language. I remember just laughing the moment he walked on stage, because he was so specific with his walk, his voice, and his demeanor. Such a perfectly composed nervous energy that fit the character of Cornelius Hackl, a man who had never taken a day to himself. And when he finally does, he falls in love with a woman who appreciates his sincerity.

Another actor that I really enjoyed was Lori Berg. Based on her resume and her presence, she is a seasoned professional, and a wonderful woman to helm a show like this one. She was big when necessary, while also being appropriately vulnerable to show her character’s desire to live her life to the fullest. While this character could be deemed unlikable due to her conniving and lying, Berg did a great job bringing the audience onto her side, showing that her heart was genuine.

The team at the Actor’s Co-op was talented, especially the designers of the show. The relatively large stage was set as a wooden paneled room designed by Stephen Gifford, which easily changed between the different rooms featured in the play based on the furniture within it. The director, Heather Chesley, used the space well, and created some great physical comedic bits that needed the extra square footage to facilitate. A really unconventional choice made by the director that I loved was using the foot of the stage for action to distract from the scene changes. She used the actors to continue their characters story, as they moved from the first house to New York, etc etc. And at one point in the show, Cornelius and his cohort, Barnaby, get kidnapped offstage (it is only mentioned in the script), and Chesley actually showed this little scene to us during a set change. What a creative use of the stage, and an amazing way to distract from the choreographed chaos upstage!

The ultimate theme of the play, as told multiple times by characters breaking the fourth wall, is getting out and enjoying life. I find it very interesting that that subject, which is a big part of writing and social commentary today, was being told to Americans post World War II. Even then Wilder recognized the importance of an active mind, of getting out and talking to people, of actually getting your hands dirty by doing and living. And that was a society before technology that all by eliminates the need for face-to-face contact. Even then, artists and philosophers were encouraging humanity to get out, see the world, and do something with their lives. Much like the dying art of live theater, I worry that the art of conversation in person is slowly dying. Technology should be used in moderation, in conjunction with face-to-face meetings with friends, or quality time with family. But how exciting to be reminded that truly good and influential art, is good and influential for many decades beyond it’s inception. And thanks to the Actor’s Co-op production, I could be encouraged to live my life a little fuller by a play they produced, written over 50 years ago.

The Actor’s Co-Op Theater Company’s production of The Matchmaker by Thornton Wilder runs Fridays and Saturdays at 8:00 pm, and Saturdays and Sundays at 2:30 pm through June 16 at the David Schall Theatre at 1760 N Gower St., Los Angeles, CA 90028. Call (323) 462 – 8460 for more information, and visit the Actors Co-op online at www.actorsco-op.org.